Walking around in downtown Beijing, taking in the sights and sounds of the Dongcheng district, my colleague and I bumped into Christina and Lee. Bumped is perhaps an inaccurate portrayal, as they flagged us and enthusiastically asked us where we were from. ‘Pakistan,’ we said. Smiles gave way to looks of awe, and back to toothy grins. “Pakistan?” they said, giving us four animated thumbs up. “Pakistan! Good friend!”
Microcosmically speaking, this is the general sense of love and admiration China feels for Pakistan, an unassuming, unadulterated sense of respect and adoration. It is only fitting that our delegation was visiting Beijing to comprehensively promote the China-Pakistan All Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership, interacting with scholars, professors, academicians and researchers from across the aisle. For two days we debated, discussed and dissected the many aspects of our bilateral relations and cooperation. While the exchanges were thought-provoking, highly informative and deeply stimulating, a few critical points stand out.
First, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CEPC (which the Pakistani delegation adopted as PCEC - with the goal of building ownership and shared responsibility for the project) is a small portion of a much larger, decades-long, global economic future envisioned by the Chinese. At its core, it is designed to establish China as an undeniable force in world trade and interconnectivity in the East, surpassing competitors and mitigating the expanding US pivot, while simultaneously continuing Beijing’s long-standing policy of non-interference and expanding its sphere of positive relations. This massive undertaking, crystallized in the form of the 21st century Maritime Silk Route (MSR), is viewed as China’s community of destiny in the new world order. Pakistan has the unique opportunity to be a member of this community, second only to China. It is not without reason that analysts, economists, and strategists hail the initiative as the watershed moment for Pakistan – one that can realign its future, or reveal its collective ineptitude.
Second, intimately tied to the first point above, is the existential reason Pakistan has been given to make PCEC a flagship project that reflects the country’s sincerity, honesty, political reconciliation, economic perseverance, and ability to answer the call of the ‘Iron Brothers’. In April 2015, President Xi Jinping, in his historic visit to Pakistan, signed 51 MoUs and announced a $46 billion investment to see PCEC become a reality. The leaders of the two nations also elevated the Pakistan-China relations to the All-Weather Strategic Cooperation Partnership. In doing so, China has given Pakistan what decades of US foreign policy was never able to give: a tangible, long-term, mutually beneficial, economic reason to bring about peace, stability and build cooperation in the region.
Third, there was a lot of concern shown for the lack of cultural and educational exchanges between the two sides. Fazalur Rehman, director of the Pakistan Council on China, remarked on how despite an unwavering commitment to one another, there is so little people-to-people contact and knowledge about one another’s cultures. Tang Mengsheng, director of Center for Pakistan Studies at Peking University, quoted a famous Chinese saying before adding a phrase of his own: “Our friendship is higher than mountains and deeper than oceans; but can we shake hands on land?” If we combine the populations of the two countries, only one of every 11,300 individuals has ever visited the other country, demonstrating a pronounced lack of people-to-people contact. Muhammad Salim Khan, Economic Minister in the Pakistan Embassy in Beijing, shared that 3/4th of the 360,000 Pakistani students studying in China were self-financed, revealing a dire need for scholarship opportunities. Nearly every scholar and speaker on both sides stressed the need for additional exchanges and exposure to each other’s culture and traditions.
This lack of cultural exchanges was also evident in a random public encounter. On the way to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, we ran into a professor of calligraphy at the Beijing Fine Arts University. He took us to a local shop where his work (and the work of his students) was being showcased. He walked us through the meaning of the various styles, their historic significance, and what they were meant to represent or convey. It was an enlightening experience, one that gave me more insight into Chinese culture than any number of books or articles I could have read on the subject. The professor gave us his email, and posed for us with his brilliant work. Earlier, when he had just met us, he had also asked where we were from. Upon hearing the response, his reaction so closely mimicked the one from a few nights ago, they might as well have rehearsed it. He too flashed a thumbs up: “Pakistan? Good friend!”
Many members of the Pakistan delegation kept reiterating how visiting China was the equivalent of visiting your brother’s home. And in most cases, this was true. However, it was also encouraging to see that like brothers, the two delegations were able to speak about points of divergence and disagreement with mutual respect, without sacrificing the integrity of the points they were trying to make. A member of the Chinese delegation expressed his concern over the issue of governance in Pakistan, and whether Pakistan’s democratic institutions would be able to deliver on the promises made to its people, and in many ways, to the people of China. It is a valid concern, one that hit very close to home, as we struggle with issues of shoddy governance in Pakistan on a daily basis. The Pakistan side expressed concern over the role China will play, especially given its policy of non-interference, in the Afghan reconciliation process, given the level of alleged Indian involvement in the country. Both sides expressed concerns on how to continue developing and nurturing the relationship, given the different approaches the two countries have to government, governance and transparency.
On the last day in Beijing, we spotted someone walking next to us, staring at us very closely. “Hello, how are you? I am Zeeshan,” I said. “Oh hello! Your English is very good!” he said in response. “So is yours; you speak English rather well!” He laughed, “Oh no, I don’t speak English, I speak Chinglish!” We all began laughing. He was a student at a nearby university, and wanted us to swing by and see his latest project. We politely declined, saying we were running late for our flight. Just before he left us, he looked back and said, “Hey, where you from?” I looked at my colleague and smiled, knowing exactly what will happen next. “I am from Pakistan,” I said. He smiled back. “Pakistan! Good food!” Ah well. Two out of three isn’t bad!
Microcosmically speaking, this is the general sense of love and admiration China feels for Pakistan, an unassuming, unadulterated sense of respect and adoration. It is only fitting that our delegation was visiting Beijing to comprehensively promote the China-Pakistan All Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership, interacting with scholars, professors, academicians and researchers from across the aisle. For two days we debated, discussed and dissected the many aspects of our bilateral relations and cooperation. While the exchanges were thought-provoking, highly informative and deeply stimulating, a few critical points stand out.
First, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CEPC (which the Pakistani delegation adopted as PCEC - with the goal of building ownership and shared responsibility for the project) is a small portion of a much larger, decades-long, global economic future envisioned by the Chinese. At its core, it is designed to establish China as an undeniable force in world trade and interconnectivity in the East, surpassing competitors and mitigating the expanding US pivot, while simultaneously continuing Beijing’s long-standing policy of non-interference and expanding its sphere of positive relations. This massive undertaking, crystallized in the form of the 21st century Maritime Silk Route (MSR), is viewed as China’s community of destiny in the new world order. Pakistan has the unique opportunity to be a member of this community, second only to China. It is not without reason that analysts, economists, and strategists hail the initiative as the watershed moment for Pakistan – one that can realign its future, or reveal its collective ineptitude.
Second, intimately tied to the first point above, is the existential reason Pakistan has been given to make PCEC a flagship project that reflects the country’s sincerity, honesty, political reconciliation, economic perseverance, and ability to answer the call of the ‘Iron Brothers’. In April 2015, President Xi Jinping, in his historic visit to Pakistan, signed 51 MoUs and announced a $46 billion investment to see PCEC become a reality. The leaders of the two nations also elevated the Pakistan-China relations to the All-Weather Strategic Cooperation Partnership. In doing so, China has given Pakistan what decades of US foreign policy was never able to give: a tangible, long-term, mutually beneficial, economic reason to bring about peace, stability and build cooperation in the region.
"Our friendship is higher than mountains and deeper than oceans; but can we shake hands on land?"
Third, there was a lot of concern shown for the lack of cultural and educational exchanges between the two sides. Fazalur Rehman, director of the Pakistan Council on China, remarked on how despite an unwavering commitment to one another, there is so little people-to-people contact and knowledge about one another’s cultures. Tang Mengsheng, director of Center for Pakistan Studies at Peking University, quoted a famous Chinese saying before adding a phrase of his own: “Our friendship is higher than mountains and deeper than oceans; but can we shake hands on land?” If we combine the populations of the two countries, only one of every 11,300 individuals has ever visited the other country, demonstrating a pronounced lack of people-to-people contact. Muhammad Salim Khan, Economic Minister in the Pakistan Embassy in Beijing, shared that 3/4th of the 360,000 Pakistani students studying in China were self-financed, revealing a dire need for scholarship opportunities. Nearly every scholar and speaker on both sides stressed the need for additional exchanges and exposure to each other’s culture and traditions.
This lack of cultural exchanges was also evident in a random public encounter. On the way to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, we ran into a professor of calligraphy at the Beijing Fine Arts University. He took us to a local shop where his work (and the work of his students) was being showcased. He walked us through the meaning of the various styles, their historic significance, and what they were meant to represent or convey. It was an enlightening experience, one that gave me more insight into Chinese culture than any number of books or articles I could have read on the subject. The professor gave us his email, and posed for us with his brilliant work. Earlier, when he had just met us, he had also asked where we were from. Upon hearing the response, his reaction so closely mimicked the one from a few nights ago, they might as well have rehearsed it. He too flashed a thumbs up: “Pakistan? Good friend!”
Many members of the Pakistan delegation kept reiterating how visiting China was the equivalent of visiting your brother’s home. And in most cases, this was true. However, it was also encouraging to see that like brothers, the two delegations were able to speak about points of divergence and disagreement with mutual respect, without sacrificing the integrity of the points they were trying to make. A member of the Chinese delegation expressed his concern over the issue of governance in Pakistan, and whether Pakistan’s democratic institutions would be able to deliver on the promises made to its people, and in many ways, to the people of China. It is a valid concern, one that hit very close to home, as we struggle with issues of shoddy governance in Pakistan on a daily basis. The Pakistan side expressed concern over the role China will play, especially given its policy of non-interference, in the Afghan reconciliation process, given the level of alleged Indian involvement in the country. Both sides expressed concerns on how to continue developing and nurturing the relationship, given the different approaches the two countries have to government, governance and transparency.
On the last day in Beijing, we spotted someone walking next to us, staring at us very closely. “Hello, how are you? I am Zeeshan,” I said. “Oh hello! Your English is very good!” he said in response. “So is yours; you speak English rather well!” He laughed, “Oh no, I don’t speak English, I speak Chinglish!” We all began laughing. He was a student at a nearby university, and wanted us to swing by and see his latest project. We politely declined, saying we were running late for our flight. Just before he left us, he looked back and said, “Hey, where you from?” I looked at my colleague and smiled, knowing exactly what will happen next. “I am from Pakistan,” I said. He smiled back. “Pakistan! Good food!” Ah well. Two out of three isn’t bad!